6 Foods You Should Swap To Lose More Weight

Clearing your kitchen of food landmines is about more than tossing your half-eaten boxes of cookies, bags of white bagels, and greasy potato chips. (Haven't thrown those out yet? They need to go.)

You may also need to throw out some foods that, upon first inspection, don't seem so bad, says nutritionist Tori Holthaus, M.S., R.D., founder ofYES! Nutrition, LLC. Check out these six foods that are stocked in virtually every woman's kitchen. If your weight loss is stalling—or not humming along at the pace you'd like—it's a pretty good sign these foods shouldn’t be in yours.

1. Salad Dressing
Cream-based, oil-based, or low-fat, virtually any pre-made salad dressing is a no-no when you're trying to lose weight. Most come loaded with calories, sugar, and salt, and the low-fat versions actually tend to be even higher in sugar and salt compared to their full-fat counterparts, says Holthaus. What's more, to absorb many of your salad's nutrients, you need to consume some fat with your greens. One study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who use fat-free dressings absorb zero lycopene and beta-carotene, two antioxidants that are needed for overall health and weight loss.

Swap it for: olive oil—just don't overdo it. One tablespoon packs a healthy dose of unsaturated fatty acids without being a caloric nightmare. Or, if you feel like mixing it up, whip up one of these 10 3-minute DIY salad dressings you'll love.

2. Canned Foods
"Many canned foods aren't problematic from a caloric standpoint, but they are loaded with sodium, which is a huge concern for women trying to lose weight," says Holthaus. While sodium's goal is to keep your soup "fresh" and enhance its flavor, it comes with frustrating water retention as a side effect, making you feel like you're gaining, not losing, weight. Plus, most tin cans' resin linings contain bisphenol-A (BPA), a synthetic estrogen that one2013 study published in the journal PLOS ONE linked with an increased risk of obesity.

Swap it for: fresh and frozen produce. If you absolutely can't part with cans, look for a BPA-free label, and before you dig in, drain your veggies and rinse them to remove excess sodium, recommends Holthaus. If you're jonesing for a steaming bowl of soup, try pureeing those veggies along with your favorite spices—tada.

3. Juices
Fruit or green, it doesn't make much of a difference to your spiking blood-sugar levels. While even 100 percent fruit juices are little more than sugar water, many packaged green juices are mostly fruit juice—just with a dash of spinach, kale, or spirulina. "The juicing process separates the fruit's juice from its fiber, so the sugar you do get makes your blood sugar spike," says Holthaus. The result: Insulin rushes the sugar straight into your fat cells and, 30 minutes later, you're left with a sugar crash and cravings. Case in point: If you serve yourself a typical 16-ounce glass of orange juice, for example, you're getting about 200 calories, 40 grams of sugar, and only one gram of fiber.

Swap it for: actual fruits. That way, you get fiber, which slows down your body's absorption of the sugar and helps you feel full for longer, says Holthaus. If green juices are your weakness, consider making your own. That way, you have complete control over what you're sipping. In need of some inspiration? 

4. Coffee Creamer
Hey, it's just a splash. How much harm can it do to your weight-loss efforts? More than you probably think. Coffee creamer can be one of the most concentrated sources of calories in your refrigerator, weighing in at 20, 30, even 50 calories a tablespoon. "It's easy to consume way more than that, especially if you're having more than one cup per day," says Holthaus, who notes that some brands—most of which are teaming with sugar and high-fructose corn syrup—also contain partially hydrogenated oils (code word for trans fats). Plus, what do you think is giving your creamer that yummy hazelnut taste? Chemicals.

Swap it for: Milk. Try one of the healthy, low-cal options you do (or should) already have in your refrigerator, she says. One percent dairy milk, unsweetened almond milk, or soy milk are all good options.

5. Processed Lunch Meat
No matter how lean your lunchmeat is ("come on, it's turkey!"), it's still processed and not a great choice if you're trying to lose weight or just live healthier. "Oftentimes processed deli meat is pumped full of chemicals our body doesn't know or recognize," says Holthaus. And while sodium can lead to ill-famed water retention and bloating, research has also linked processed meat to cardiovascular disease and premature death.

Swap it for: fresh DIY cuts. All you have to do is cook your turkey, ham, or beef and then slice it up real thin or, if you want, thick. It doesn't have to take a lot of work: Consider using your slow cooker. With the right combination of spices, juiciness, and zero chemicals, you'll never want a cold cut again.

6. Margarine
The "diet-friendly" butter alternative is low in fat but high in chemicals. Most worrisome for weight loss: partially hydrogenated oils, which are in some types of margarine. Those oils are high in trans fats, or manmade ones, which can harm your weight-loss efforts and health even at low doses, says Holthaus.

Swap it for: more natural fat sources, even if that means you consume a few more calories than you would with margarine. It's counterintuitive, but your health and scale will thank you in the long term. If you use margarine as a spread, Holthaus recommends subbing it out with a butter that is both organic and unsalted. However, if you're cooking, olive, hemp seed, avocado, grape seed, and other oils make great options. Just remember that they are all calorically dense—a little bit goes a long way.